Top Five Things That Can Kill a Résumé

The résumé is a strategic document. There’s a reason behind the way it is
structured and what is included so you can effectively convey your
value to prospective employers. However, several things can torpedo
your résumé if you aren’t aware of them. Here are some pitfalls to
avoid:

1.) Accidentally revealing your age. You
need to neutralize your résumé so you don’t tip your hand on how old
you are. New entrants to the workplace and more mature workers struggle
with this issue, and plenty of employers have misconceptions about what
each generation of workers are capable of doing. Your goal is to make
your career document as neutral as possible. Get into this mindset: If
it isn’t on there, it can’t be discriminated against.

Specific areas to evaluate:

Your e-mail address. Does
it say anything about what year you graduated, your interests, or your
age? Safe bet: Use your name. If you have a common name, include a
couple of random numbers with it.

Your graduation year. Unless
you are going into an educational or technical field, leave it off.
Human resource managers can do the math, and that can reveal your age.

Your complete work history. The
‘sweet’ spot is no more than 15-20 years of work history. Anything more
screams your age, and after 15-20 years, you often have eclipsed what
you did long ago either in accomplishments or career levels, so you’ll
have to do some editing. Think of it this way: We don’t do business the
way we did over 20 years ago, so what you accomplished then is now
obsolete.

2.) Producing an error-filled résumé. You’d
be surprised at how many people, including C-level executives, are
marching around with résumés riddled with errors. Check everything —
including consistency of use, spelling, punctuation, grammar, and
formatting. Remember, this is supposed to be your best foot forward,
and if you can’t even get that right, this tells a prospective employer
that you won’t be doing a much better job if you were to become their
employee.

3.) Lacking focus or taking a one-size-fits-all approach. The
truth of the matter is that résumés have to be highly targeted,
laser-precise documents now, given that many employers are using
applicant-tracking software to scan for relevant keywords. Even if a
company isn’t using this filter, you still need to immediately capture
their attention and prove your relevancy toward the position opening.

It is even more critical that you create ‘thematic’ résumés that play up
your career strengths. If you have spent time in the workforce, you
likely have several different cards to play out of your deck when it
comes to the types of jobs you target. As an example, I am a résumé
writer, an instructor, a former television producer, a meeting planner,
and a tourism development manager. I also have been in sales and
marketing. Each field would be highlighted in a different résumé, and
unless my experience directly relates to the document theme, I leave it
off. Think relevancy. That brings clarity to the document, and helps
you determine the correct keyword cloud to associate with that
particular theme. That alone can improve your keyword hits or hit home
to someone reading your résumé that you are a match to the position
opening.

4.) Failing to include a cover letter. Believe
it or not, human resource managers will say that cover letters, while
maybe not immediate attention grabbers, are important components of the
résumé. It’s like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich — you need to
have both to make the magic combination; they simply go together. The
résumé is the facts, and the cover letter is the compelling reason of
how you are going to help the target company and why they should hire
you. These documents cannot stand alone or independent of each other.

5.) Leaving yourself open to bias in the résumé review stage. It’s
an uncomfortable fact that in that back room, where the human resource
administrator sifts through résumés, personal bias comes into play.
It’s difficult to prove, and employers deny it, but the reality is that
it does happen. Use some critical thought about what you are
putting down under your affiliations and involvement section of your
résumé. The reasons that someone might toss your résumé out are truly
mind-boggling. No matter how innocuous your experience might be,
someone else on the other end might misconstrue it.

Many are involved in noble causes such as Lance Armstrong’s LiveStrong
Foundation, Race for the Cure, and the like. However, if you list
extensive involvement in those types of health areas, it might give an
employer cause to wonder: Does this candidate have cancer or a serious
illness? Your generous donation of time and energy to these
organizations is great, but it can be taken out of context. Unless you are applying for a job in a related field or company, be careful how many you list. One is fine, but more could set off an alarm.

Being aware of these pitfalls can help you be more savvy in developing your
résumé and remove obstacles that could be holding you back.

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About the Author…

Video Production Specialist

Mr. Riegel is currently an Editor for a government contractor in Northern Virginia where he assisted in the creation of their media department from the ground up. Prior to that, he was a Senior Video Production Specialist and Team Lead for the Department of Defense with more than ten years of consistent production, editing, video and audio recording experience. Jeff specializes in identifying, developing and supporting new trends in visual media technology and other solutions.

Outside of the workplace, Jeff created a long form documentary about the rise of a local boxer, Tori Nelson, to three-time world champion status which aired nationally via the Sports Channel For Women and screened at The Alexandria Film Festival.

Jeff is co-producing "The Lost Clipper," a 14 year documentary about the first hyjacking in US history and the search for those 15 lost souls taken in 1938. Filming takes him to Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii and locations across the U.S. Jeff is currently working on television show promos with network production slated to begin in 2015. He enjoys creating a media-marketing social networking campaign for entities such as CapitalTristate Electrical Distributors and "The Lost Clipper" and personalities such as Tori Nelson and Frank Lee Ruggles.

Solving complex technical problems by utilizing a myriad of advanced audio-video hardware and software applications along with initiative and ingenuity, Jeff is eager to attack any project head-on.